Awakening
by t.j.guard
Summary: Danny Fenton/Phantom has grown up and raised a family...of quarter-ghost children, the eldest of whom is about to become involved in a plot orchestrated by the Ghost of Time, and involving an enemy from her father's past.
1. Chapter 1

Awakening

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, but I do own Demi and the other unfamiliar characters.

A/N: set in Demi's POV

Chapter One

I looked around at the destruction of Amity Park, and I could swear I was the only one walking around. I had the sense that I was the only survivor of a war or, most likely, a complete destruction and genocide. My hands gripped my upper arms, and I stumbled as I walked. It suddenly occurred to me that I had been seriously injured, even though I didn't feel any pain, and it took all the strength I had to walk.

I reached Casper High and pushed my way into the principal's office, which was as deserted as the rest of the town. At first I thought I would be safe here, but as soon as I felt a wisp of air exit my mouth, realized that it was all a lie.

I walked out of the principal's office and into the gym, when another small wisp of air escaped my mouth. I turned toward the double doors to see a ghost with flaming white hair and in a black and white caped jumpsuit. His eyes glowed red, and something about his presence really put me off.

"Well, well, well," he said. "Demetria Fenton. I never knew he had a daughter, but I always figured that if he did, she'd be pretty, but naive and weak." He held his hands up, and in his hands were green energy balls, from which emanated numerous green bolts. "No match for me," he added in a darker voice, and he fired the energy balls at me.

DFDF

My eyes snapped open, and I was shuddering almost uncontrollably. My sheets were cold and damp, like my pajamas. I knew I didn't wet myself, so it must've been from a horrible cold sweat. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, reaching for my dream journal and writing down everything that I'd just seen under the light of the reading lamp.

It was the same dream I've been having for eight nights and counting, though what the ghost said sometimes changed, it was always a variation on the same thing. I was weak and naive, and every now and again he slipped in a complement for my looks or witty comments from some scene before the dream took place, which only seemed to unnerve me more. I had no idea what happened before the dream, but I knew at the end that I died, unless there was some twist that I was unaware of.

"Oh, I heard you scream," Dad said as he walked into the room, interrupting my thoughts. "Are you okay?" I nodded, and he sat on the bed next to me.

"I had the dream again," I whispered. "Eighth night yet."

"Maybe you should see a therapist."

"Maybe it's a half-ghost thing, or quarter-ghost thing, or whatever I am."

"I don't have dreams like this."

"So your conclusion is that I'm crazy?"

"Demetria Fenton, you are not crazy. I just think you need to be checked out. Soemthing's wrong, and your mind is translating it in the form of a ghost attacking you."

"You fight ghosts all the time. Why is something like me being attacked beyond you?"

Dad sighed and bowed his head. "I fight ghosts all the time so you don't have to," he said. "A lot of the ghosts are dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt." I leaned into him, and he wrapped an arm around me. "I love you, baby girl."

"I know, Dad."

"You get some more sleep, and we'll talk about this in the morning, okay?" I nodded, and he let go of me and walked toward the door. He looked over his shoulder, smiled, and said, "Sleep tight."

"I will," I replied, smiling back. He shut the door behind him, and I gave my night's entry a once-over before rereading the entries from the previous seven nights. It probably wasn't the best piece of literature if I wanted a good night's rest for school the next day, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to see if there was anything I missed when I reflected on the dreams earlier.

Finally, after a fruitless search for patterns, I closed the notebook, set it on the nightstand, and clicked the reading lamp off. I slipped back under the covers and closed my eyes, waiting for sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I awoke as if nothing ever happened and I spent the night having perhaps the most restful sleep ever, but I remembered everything that happened. The dream didn't scare me quite so much, like it wasn't my nightmare in the first place, but someone else's and I was only hearing about it.

I climbed out of bed and rifled around for a sweater and jeans, and slipped on my sneakers once I was dressed. Then I walked downstairs, where Mom, Dad, DJ, and Sam were already seated around the table. "Look who finally got up," Mom said with a smirk. I shook my head softly and pulled a granola bar out of the open box on the microwave before taking a seat between DJ and Dad just as Dad's phone rang.

He answered curtly: "Yeah? Okay, yeah...I'll be right over as soon as I can." He hung up and said, "There's some sort of haunting in Connecticut. They want me over there ASAP."

"Must be bad," Mom said, returning to her bowl of cereal. Dad cleared his place at the table and shifted into ghost form. This, while cool to watch, was nothing new anymore and had come to instill a strange pain in me. Dad, while wanting to be an astronaut, entered into the family business, albeit more successfully with regard to ghost catching. He hugged the twins simultaneously and then myself. He kissed Mom, turned intangible, and flew up through the roof.

"Wow, he keeps odd hours," I said, more bitterly than I intended, and I took a bite of my granola bar.

"I wish he stuck around more," Sam muttered.

"Join the club, kid."

DFDF

School was busy, as usual, even as early as seven forty-five, when I got there. I habitually looked around for Tanner, but he was fawning over Deirdre O'Flannery, Casper High's resident pretty girl. I turned away, disgusted, and reached my locker, all the way making a point of avoiding him. I began the transfer of books to and from my backpack, pausing on my dream journal. I put it back in my backpack and walked into Psychology ten minutes early.

"Mr. Collins," I said, "can I ask you something?"

"Yes, of course," Mr. Collins, a middle-aged guy who always wore a suit, said amiably, turning away from what he was writing on the whiteboard.

"Can you tell me about recurring dreams?"

He set the marker down in the tray and took a seat in one of the desks. I took a seat next to him and handed him my journal, directing him to the past week's entries. He read over them all collectively at least two or three times before closing the notebook and looking up at me. "I don't know what to say," he said. "This could be any number of things. You could be experiencing a high degree of stress in your life or be having a fight with a boyfriend or best friend...it's neither, isn't it."

"No, it's not. So far as I know, my Dad's job's the only thing I'm having a problem with."

"What does he do?"

"Ghost hunt, you know, freelance work, but it's not what he does that bother me. It's the hours he keeps."

"This could be your mind retaliating."

"So why is it only happening now, when Dad's been at this for as long as I can remember?"

"Well, I can't say, but with the onset of puberty, it really could be that your stress and anger are finally catching up to you, along with your hormone levels."

I looked down at my desk. "Maybe you're right, Mr. Collins. Maybe I really am reacting to my dad's schedule and wishing he could be around longer, but why would he manifest himself as an evil, crazy powerful ghost?"

"I don't know. Perhaps you subconsciously consider him the enemy."

"Maybe, but something tells me something else is going on."

"Well, if you ever need to talk, I'm right here."

"Thanks." He handed me the journal back, and I moved to my assigned seat, preparing for the day's class.

Somewhere in the middle of a lecture on dreams, I found myself doodling, even though I was completely absorbed in the lecture. I looked down at my doodle, the evil ghost from the dream I've been having for the past eight days. Underneath, for whatever reason, I had drawn, in stylized lettering, the word 'Phantom' and my dad's logo.

I studied the word. Phantom. It was defined as and synonomous with the word 'ghost'. Dad used the word as his last name when he went ghost. Danny Phantom. He was a famous hero all over the world now, and for as long as I could remember, it had been a part of his life, part of his identity.

"Miss Fenton is a classic example of recurring nightmares," Mr. Collins said, and all eyes were on me. Gingerly, I set my pencil down. "Would you like to share anything with the class, Miss Fenton?"

I looked down at the picture, and I stood and held it up for all the class to see. "This is the guy from the nightmares I've been having for the past week," I managed. "I don't know why I wrote the word 'Phantom', capital P." I passed the picture around.

"Wow, no wonder you're scared," one of the other kids said when he looked at the picture.

Another student examined it closely and said, "He looks like your dad." When I got the picture back, I examined the ghost's face, and the girl who commented on it was right. This ghost, this Phantom, looked like my dad, and I would definitely have to ask him about it when I got the chance.

"Miss Fenton could be experiencing this for a number of reasons, from reacting to her father's weird schedule, of which I hope you are all aware, to stress in her own life that she may not even be aware of," Mr. Collins continued. "I can recommend some resources to be made available to her, which I hope she utilizes, but beyond that, I'm just the teacher. I can't do all that much."

"So, her dad's not a psycho?" the girl who commented on the ghost's looks asked.

"No, he's not."

I tucked my drawing into my binder and glanced at the clock. Not long now before I could slip away and place a phone call. I only hoped my dad really wasn't secretly psychotic, like the girl suggested.

DFDF

I found a spare magnet at the bottom of my backpack and used it to clip my drawing to the back of my locker. The eyes stared at me coldly, maliciously, and I could tell that even my drawing of the ghost from my nightmare wanted to kill me.

It unnerved me almost as much as my memories of the dream did. I hung my backpack up, obscuring about half of the picture, and I shut the locker almost too eagerly. I checked my phone. There weren't any messages, and it was eleven forty-eight. I wasn't necessarily hungry, and if I was, it wasn't like I could get lunch or anything, not that cafeteria food was all that appetizing. Pocketing my phone again, I walked into the commons. This day wasn't really all that long, but I was anxious nonetheless. I just wasn't entirely sure what I was anxious about.

I listened to the mixing of conversation in the commons, not really trying to make any of it out. However, I couldn't push the picture I drew, and the subsequent revelation of one of my peers, from my mind. My dad was the monster that's been haunting my nightmares for the past eight days, at least, according to the theory.

This thought gave me my plan of action. I walked into the nearest ladies' room, pulled my phone out of my pocket, and dialled my dad's number. "Demi, thank goodness. I've been trying to reach you for a long time, and reception's crap out here. I lost my spook," Dad said urgently.

"Dad, that monster in my dreams, it's you," I replied. As relieved as I was to hear from him, there was bad news to share.

He was silent for a long moment, and then he said, "It's just a dream, baby girl. That's where he's gonna stay."

"Uh...Dad, sounds like he's pretty real to you."

"I'll tell you when you're older."

"Is it another ghost story? One that you're too scared to tell me?"

After another pause, he said, "Yes."

"Dad, what's so different about this ghost story that you didn't tell me it with all the others?"

"It's one of the worst ones."

The tone of his voice made me not press further, so I decided to change the subject. "What's your missing spook look like? Maybe I can ask around in the Ghost Zone or something?"

"No way, Demi. The Ghost Zone is full of dangerous ghosts. You're not going unaccompanied."

"What if you need the help? What if that's where your spook went? I'm pretty sure that in a place full of ghosts, someone has to know something. I know the stories by heart. I could find your old enemies and allies, ask them first."

"Still too dangerous."

"Ghost hunting is dangerous. You say that all the time. I just want to do this one thing to help out, okay?"

Dad sighed. "Get your homework done first, and make sure you take a few ghost weapons from the basement at Fentonworks with you."

"Okay."

Then Dad told me what his missing ghost looked like.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I strapped the Specter Deflector to my waist, just in case, and pocketed a Jack-o'-Nine-Tails and a small anti-ghost laser known as the Spectre Zapper before opening the portal in the Fentonworks basement and stepping through, into the Ghost Zone. Everything was green or purple, mostly green, and the sheer vastness of it almost amazed me. Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it...that was another story.

I had no idea where in the world to start.

The Ghost Zone seemed mostly deserted, but I finally did spot a ghost, and I drifted onto the rock she resided on. "Uh, hi," I said. "I'm, uh, Demi Fenton, Danny Phantom's daughter. He lost a spook and-"

"Danny Phantom?" the ghost asked, turning around. Based on the description in my dad's stories, I figured this was Ember, the ghost with the siren song.

"Yeah, he told me all the stories, or almost all of them. Anyway, he's looking for a knight in black armor on a black horse. Seen him around?"

"You're looking for the Fright Knight, though I'm not really sure who he's working for now. Turn back now, though, no matter what. You have to go back. This ghost is bad news, and whoever he's working for must be even worse news." She gave me a once-over. "I see your dad knew this too. Go back the way you came and let this go. Then it might all work itself out on its own."

A small whisp of air escaped my mouth, and instinctively, I turned one hundred eighty degrees, staring the so-called Fright Knight right in the face. "Told you it was too dangerous," Ember said flatly.

"Skipped out in Connecticut, didn't you?" I said, giving the Fright Knight a once-over while trying to conceal the growing sense that soemthing wasn't right. "My dad's looking for you." The knight didn't respond, and something told me this was some form of illusion. I took a step back and whispered, "Okay, Ember, here what we're doing." Then I laid my plan out.

Ember went on the defensive, readying ghost rays, and we walked back to back to the edge of the rock. I jumped off, and I was seized by the strangest feeling, or rather, my previous gut feeling suddenly intensified to the point that it stopped me in my tracks. Something much worse than the Fright Knight being here was wrong. Something much, much worse.

I thought back to what my dad said earlier that day, and images flashed through my mind. A castle, destroyed, smoke drifting up from the rubble, glowing slightly green from the remains of ectoplasmic energy of a very, very powerful attack. Once the images faded, I looked back at Ember. "This creep can wait," I said.

"Don't worry. He's just a statue," she replied, the ectoplasmic energy in her hands dissipating, allowing her to fold her arms across her chest.

"That explains why he wouldn't answer, but we can deal with spook statues later. I need to get to a castle with the letters CW on it."

"This way." Ember flew off, and I followed. "Can't believe we got spooked by a statue of a spook."

"Well, it did appear out of nowhere, and I did detect it via ghost sense," I offered.

"True."

"Let's just find this place first, before anything happens."

"You have some kind of vision or something?"

"You could say that."

"Your ghost powers are beginning to manifest. Everyone can sense it."

"So I do have powers, despite being only a quarter-ghost."

Ember was silent, and I didn't dare say anything. We flew on, and I scanned the Ghost Zone for any more familiar ghosts. Finally, Ember said, "So you heard all the stories, huh?"

"Yeah, I did, when I was little. They were like bedtime stories. Remember those?"

"Sort of."

"Except, there was one that I know of that he didn't tell me, and it has to do with my nightmares. There's this ghost that keeps trying to kill me, and apparently, it's Dad."

"That's not possible. If there's anything I know about that halfa, he's a real family man."

"Except he thinks it is possible."

"Well if it is, I have no idea how, and I'm not the one to ask. Clockwork, he's the one. He knows everything."

"Clockwork? CW?"

"Yes, that's the guy you're looking for. I don't know what you saw, but if we get there in time, we can prevent it."

"Funny you should say that about the ghost that apparently controls time."

Ember smirked, and we continued our flight in silent. I had a few more pieces to this puzzle, but I had no idea how they fit together, if they fit together at all. I'd have to take what I could get.

I spotted the castle, and I said, "Oh, good, still intact."

"So you saw the future."

"Except, I don't know how much time we have."

"Let's get you back to the real world, while we still can."

I studied the castle. "Wherever the real Fright Knight is, he certainly got Dad's attention, and mine. And so did that vision, and those dreams. I don't know what it all means yet, but I'll have to find out sooner or later, and if I do have ghost powers, like you say, then that probably has something to do with all this." I looked back at Ember. "I can't leave just yet."

"Are you insane?"

"I've never felt saner."

I drifted over to the door and knocked. A one-eyed, mouthless ghost in a robe answered and looked me over, but a velvet-robed ghost covered in watches and other timepieces and carrying a staff with a clock on it drifted forward. "I've been expecting you. You're a little late," he said. "Come in." The one-eyed ghost drifted aside, and I walked inside.

"I saw this place get destroyed," I replied. "I just wanted to check."

"I know."

I glanced at the thermos on the counter and asked, "What's in it?"

"A ghost from your father's past."

"Is it the very dangerous one he won't tell me about?"

"Yes."

"It's an old model, I can tell that much. How long before it finally breaks and the ghost gets out?"

"Not long."

"You don't sound too worried about it."

"I knew it was coming, just as I knew you were coming. I know everything."

"And the modesty goes out the window."

"You have your father's sense of humor."

"I'm a Fenton."

"You seem to take a lot of pride in the fact."

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Good point, but if he told you that story, you'd know your legacy would be very different, if you ever had one."

I looked at the thermos again. It was dented in several places, and I could see a face at one point, though it was distorted by further dents. Even so, I easily identified it as the face from my nightmares. "I see you recognize the face," Clockwork said, interrupting my musings.

"Yeah, I do," I replied, though he probably knew all about the dreams and what I'd been learning recently. He did say he knew everything. "It is just a dream, right?"

"Dreams and visions can be indistinguishable, especially in halfas. Of course, there are only a few halfas in the world, and you're the first one born, so this is a unique case."

"What about my little brothers?"

"With time, we will see."

"And the Fright Knight? What about him?"

"The matter of the Fright Knight will be addressed in time, I assure you. It shouldn't concern you, but if it didn't, you wouldn't have come here."

"So was I supposed to come or not?"

"No one is ever supposed to do anything. One's choices influence one's time stream. I only intervene when things get ugly, as in the case of the ghost in that thermos."

"That's why no one remembers anything. You circumvented the time stream."

"Yes, that's exactly what happened."

"So, the ghost in the thermos exists outside of time now?"

"Yes."

"What happens if he tries to reenter the time stream?"

"Any number of things, but he's not going to take any chances."

The thermos rattled precariously, making me extremely nervous. I instinctively reached out to catch it as it tumbled to the floor, but it slipped out of my fingers. The damaged thermos split open at the weakest point, where the lid connected to the rest of it, and its contents swirled out in a green mass. I looked up at the vortex, out of which formed a very familiar shape, a shape that had been haunting my dreams for eight days.

I backed up against the wall, but once the form solidified, my terror froze me. With a flick of his wrist, the ghost removed my specter deflector, which dropped to the floor, the sound echoing through the castle, cutting the silence like a knife. He held his hands up triumphantly, echoed by the look on his face and the laugh he let out. "Free at last," he said when he recovered from his laughter. His voice, just like in my dreams, was slow and had a smug quality to it. It was the kind of voice that could terrify a person completely, as it did me. He looked at me and chuckled. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Oh, wait, you have." He held his palm up, and in it was an electrically charged energy ball.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I had no idea if this was a dream or not, but when he proceeded to launch the energy ball, I suddenly unfroze. I reached out and splayed my fingers, my palms toward him. A shield appeared, encircling myself and everything else from the wall on one side of me to the wall on the other. The energy from the attack moved along the shield, right into the walls, cracking them.

The ghost recovered himself and prepared to launch another attack when the shield broke down. Every nerve in my body told me to run, but I felt paralyzed, and that the shield was a fluke. I watched the ghost, memorized his face, so that if I died and turned into a ghost myself, I would know who to haunt first and recongnize him when I found him.

Instead of another set of electrically charged energy balls, he let out a Ghostly Wail, something I had only seen my dad use once. The force of the attack sent me directly through the wall-before it collapsed into a pile of rubble. I flew back about twenty feet before tumbling free of the attack. Ember was watching from behind a rock. "It's official," I said. "We're getting out of here."

"I knew you'd come to your senses eventually," she replied, slipping to the side a little as I ducked behind the rock. The wail died down, and I peered over the edge of the rock. Clockwork's castle was in ruins, just as in my vision. In the middle of the field of debris was the ghost, fusing a medallian into his chest.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," the ghost said in a sing-song voice that made me feel sick to my stomach. He drifted right over to our rock and blasted it apart, leaving Ember and I floating in the Ghost Zone, defenseless. Sort of.

Without a second thought, I held my hands out. Energy beams fired out of them, which the ghost dodged. "This is too easy," he said with a horrible smile that revealed his fangs.

He drifted closer, and I screamed, "Get the hell away from me." I fired another pair of blasts, this set knocking him back a few feet.

"C'mon, let's go while we still can," Ember said, flying off in a random direction and dragging me behind her. I looked over my shoulder every two seconds before deciding instead to devote myself to finding a ghost portal so we could get out of this mess.

The ghost fired at us, and Ember dodged, jerking me around like I was a towel.

I spotted a portal just to the right of our current flight path, and I pulled us toward it. We shot through, followed by one of the ghost's blasts, which knocked us through a wall, into a small room.

"Ember? Demi?" Dad asked. Most if the room was covered in rubble and dust, and I heard the ghost land in front of us. I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees and looked around. Dad was at the edge of the room, which contained only a desk and a few chairs, and the ghost was right in front of the giant hole in the wall that Ember and I had created.

The ghost looked over at Dad and said, "Well, well, well, Daniel Fenton. Long time no see."

"You two know each other?" Ember asked.

Dad shifted into his ghost form and stepped between us and the ghost. "You two get out of here," he said over his shoulder. "I'll cover you."

Ember raced out of the room, but I stayed, keeping Dad between the ghost and myself. The ghost and my dad began trading blows like nobody's business. I ducked whenever appropriate, glancing around for something to use as a weapon, considering the ghost was distracted fighting my dad.

I grabbed a nearby chair, slipped into position, and busted it over the ghost's back without hesitation. He turned to face me, a green disk in his hand. The disk flew, barely grazing my shoulder and slicing into a portrait before disappearing. That's when I heard another Ghostly Wail. Even though this one was my dad's doing, I generated another shield, ignoring the dizziness in my head and the aching in my body.

The wail finally stopped, and I glanced at the series of holes that led to the outside of the house. I relaxed, and the shield disappeared. "How did you do that?" Dad asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "It's been like this all afternoon. I have no idea how I'm doing what I'm doing, but fighting for my life seems to help me generate this...whatever it is."

"Ectoplasmic manifestation. Ghost power."

"Well, that's what Ember said. Everyone can sense that my ghost powers are manifesting."

"You have to get out of here. That ghost...that ghost isn't supposed to be here. He's supposed to be trapped in a thermos at Clockwork's."

I told him everything, the vision, the subsequent attempt to stop it from happening, the chase that followed. I even threw in the bit about the Fright Knight statue because I just couldn't stop talking. Finally, after I finished, Dad said, "I'm gonna take you to Aunt Dani's and the rest of the family to Grandma and Grandpa's."

"Why are you separating us?"

"You're developing ghost powers. You need to be under halfa protection until we get this resolved. Your brothers and Mom have to stay with ghost hunters so they can be protected, too."

"What about you?"

"I can handle that creep. I'm just not sure the rest of the world can." He held his hand out toward me, and I took it. He guided me out of the house through the first gaping hole in the wall and asked, "Why didn't you leave when I told you to?"

"I...I thought maybe I could help you."

"You're very brave, Demi, but this is one of those really dangerous ghosts I told you about last night. In fact, he's the most dangerous. He won't shy away from killing, be it me, you, your brothers, or a perfect stranger."

"Dad, are you afraid of him?"

"You have no idea."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

While our flight was uninterrupted, Dad was incredibly tense. Once we landed, he rang the doorbell, and Dani answered almost immediately. "Hey, what's up?" she asked in her usual cheery voice. Then she gave us a once-over, and the cheeriness faded. "Everything okay?"

"No, it's not," Dad said.

"What happened?"

"Demi, why don't you go inside? I want to talk to Dani in private." I obliged, but only to a point. They walked into the living room, and I hung by the entry into the hallway, behind a bookcase. "It's Phantom," Dad said in a low, raspy voice. I stifled a gasp, instantly flashing back to the word I wrote on my drawing. "That ghost from the alternate future I was telling you about."

"He was sealed away in a thermos, guarded by Clockwork," Dani replied.

"Until he broke free and attacked my daughter."

"What?"

"Look, she's developing ghost powers, and she has little to no idea how to control them. The others will be with my mom and dad."

"What about you?"

"I'm the target, or at least, his first one. If my family's safe, I can handle anything."

"And what if you get killed and he comes after your family? What then?"

"Hopefully by then Demi has a better understanding of her powers and a better shot at fighting him off."

"Are you even sure you know what you're doing?"

"This may be the only shot we have, and this time, it's not sealing him away in a thermos, it's destorying him for good."

Dani still regarded Dad uncertainly, but she didn't say anything more, and Dad turned intangible and flew out through the roof. I slipped down the hall to the spare bedroom to sort through my thoughts. The ghost from my dreams had a name, Phantom. He was from an alternate timeline, it seemed one where Dad turned evil, though how or why I didn't know.

I leaned against the door and sank to my knees, staring at my hands. Some sort of ectoplasmic energy coming from them, me, had saved my life. I was afraid I was going insane, but something about the thought seemed not only impossible, but laughable.

I had always wondered if this would happen, and, if so, how, but I never expected the sequence of events that had just transpired. It hadn't even crossed my mind, come to think of it. I just expected something more mundane, like one of the everyday spooks that dropped by Fentonworks every so often, not some freako that completely terrified even my dad. And what was worse, no one else seemed to know anything about him. Just Dad.

And what did Clockwork have to do with any of this, outside of knowing everything that wsa taking place?

My head pounded, and I began to realize exactly how sore and exhausted discovering my ghost powers made me. I pushed myself to my feet, walked over to the bed, and lay down. I had no memory of falling asleep.

DPDP

"Demi, Demi," Dani called, though she was nowhere to be seen in the dream. It was just me and Phantom, duking it out over the streets of Amity Park. I looked around for her nonetheless, and while I was distracted, he zapped me in the back.

That was when I finally woke up. Dani was shaking me, and I looked around at the bedroom. "What happened?" I asked, examining the scorch marks on the wall to my left.

"You were firing ecto-blasts in your sleep." She leaned back to sitting on the edge of the bed, her hand resting on the sheet.

"Ecto-blasts in my sleep? Weird. I was dreaming about being in a ghost fight."

"In the early stages, your powers are controlled more by your emotions than your thoughts. It's a more unconscious process than a conscious one."

"So what do I do? I keep dreaming about the face of evil and it's like I can't do anything about it."

"That's why your dad wanted you to stay here. He has to go track Phantom down before he causes too much damage. I talked to your dad earlier, before you started tearing up the room, just to confirm what he wanted. He told me to train you while he was out."

"What about school?"

"It's Saturday."

"Oh. Where do I start, then?"

"C'mon." Dani led me out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, where she grabbed a box of granola bars off the counter. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," she said.

"I think I'll pass."

"You might not think you're hungry now, but you will be."

"Well, guess it helps to have food handy."

We descended the stairs to her basement, and she set the box on a nearby table and said, "We're gonna start with going ghost. It's probably the easiest ghost skill you'll learn, but it's the most important. The thing you want to remember about going ghost is that it's best accomplished by not thinking, which is apparently your strong suit lately. You'll get used to it, but at first it does take some degree of concentration. Do you think you can do it?"

I glanced down at the floor, and then I looked up at Dani and nodded. She took a step back and transformed, two white rings forming at her waist and moving all the way up and down her body. She donned a black and white suit with an identical logo to my dad. Her middriff was bare, and the colors were more evenly distributed along her outfit.

I took a deep breath, focusing on the movement of air into and out of my lungs. I could feel myself shifting, and it was like part of me that had been on the backburner my whole life was being pushed to the forefront by a force I had no idea could be inside of me. The air was ripped from my lungs, and I collapsed with a groan. "Okay," Dani said, "maybe this'll be harder than I thought."

I pushed myself into a sitting position. "Did I do it?" I asked.

"See for yourself."

I looked down. I was wearing an outfit whose top was more white than black, connected to a white skirt via a diagonal stripe, and I was wearing mostly black pants and white shoes. I examined my hair, which was usually black with two white streaks. It was now white with two black streaks. "I'll take that as a yes," I said. "Will getting back hurt as much?"

"Try it. I know I shouldn't push it, but sustaining a ghost form is harder than it looks."

I took another deep breath. The feeling of shifting, and the headache, came back, but I felt strangely relieved to be back in human form. I was about as exhausted as I was the previous night. "Did I tell you I was only a quarter-ghost?"

"No, you didn't, but that explains a lot, actually." Dani shifted back into human form and helped me up, and I sank into a holey office chair in the corner, something I assumed was placed into storage a long time ago. "You probably ought to rest. I don't want you to end up seriously hurting yourself."

"Can't say I didn't try, though."

"True."

I closed my eyes, and my head rolled back. After a few moments, I looked at my hands, turning them palm up. I watched as small ectoplasmic balls appeared in them for a brief moment before disappearing. "I can still do that," I said.

"Don't try to hard, okay?"

"I won't."

Dani rifled around in the box of granola bars and handed me one, which I accepted.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

That evening, after I recovered fully from my headache, I settled into a chair in the kitchen, pulled my phone out of my pocket, and dialled Mom's number. "Yeah?" she asked when she picked up.

"Hey, Mom," I replied. "Are DJ and Sam okay?"

"Yeah. They're listening to Grandma and Grandpa's ghost stories right now."

"Oh, maybe I should rush over right away," I said with a smile.

Mom laughed and replied, "I'm making sure they don't get any dangerous ideas."

"Okay."

"So, heard from Dad?"

"Not yet. I'll probably call him later, though."

"Okay, tell him we're okay over here."

"I will."

"So, how's Dani?"

"She's good. She got me started early today, practicing my ghost powers and all. My quarter-ghostliness might be a problem, though."

"The world hasn't seen a quarter-ghost before. This may be a little tricky. For a while, we wondered if you might have powers at all."

"Or if I would develop a full set."

"Where'd you hear that?"

"You, a few days ago, after I started sensing ghosts."

"Oh. Well, apparently a full set is coming. It's just going to take more practice."

"Yeah, because not everyone can be Dad."

"Demi, this isn't about you being like your dad."

"Actually, in a way, it is. You can't get a halfa out of half of a halfa. Huh, half-a-halfa."

"Okay, Demi, just stay with Dani and we'll figure out how to make this, this half-a-halfa thing work out."

"Okay." Mom hung up, leaving me to dial Dad's number. He didn't answer, so I left a message. "Mom wanted me to call you, and I wanted to make sure you weren't hurt or anything, since you said that Phantom guy was dangerous. Anyway, she and my brothers are okay, and Dani got me started on practice. It might be a little harder than I thought, but I think I'll be okay. Could you call me back if you get this? Love you, Dad," I said, pressing the 'end' button.

Half-a-halfa, I thought, settling back in my chair in the kitchen. I liked the term, it made sense and was easy for the layman to wrap his head around. That one was a keeper, I decided.

A whisp of air escaped my mouth, and I looked around the empty kitchen. The light flickered out, and my hair stood on end. "Dani?" I called, getting to my feet and looking again, this time in darkness.

"It's not gonna be that easy," a low, familiar voice said, so soft I could barely hear it.

I took a deep breath and stood up straight. If I couldn't not be afraid, I could at least fake it. "What do you want?" I demanded, making sure my voice sounded more tough than I felt.

The voice laughed. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked, louder this time. "The entire Fenton family. You, your parents, your brothers, your grandparents, your 'aunt' Dani, your aunt Jazz. Your cousins, the entire clan. They're all gonna die. Then no one can stop me."

"So show yourself so you can kill me."

"Are you really so eager?"

"Better to die knowing my attacker wasn't a coward, I think."

I waited in the silence, wondering if I was hallucinating, or where Phantom was. However, when I was about to call out to him to show himself, he did, just outside the window. With a flick of his hand, the glass shattered. Okay, Demi, you can do this. You can look the devil in the eye and live to tell about it.

Phantom phased through the wall, and I asked, "Why break the glass?"

"Dramatic effect."

I kept my back straight and stared him in the eye. "So, you're out to kill me and my entire family, huh?" My phone rang, and I checked the caller ID. "Oh, look, there's the first of us now. Would you like to talk to him?" I held the phone out and pressed the 'loudspeaker' button.

"Hey, Demi, just got your message. Everything okay over there?" Dad asked.

"Tell him, Phantom," I said.

"What? He's there? How?"

Phantom chuckled. "Still naive, Daniel, even at forty-four?" he asked. "No one is safe, and this will be a long, interesting ride." He disappeared, and the light flickered back on.

"Demi, Demetria?" Dad asked.

"Yeah?"

"Oh, good. You're not hurt, are you?"

"Perfectly fine, despite being completely terrified."

"He didn't threaten you or anything, did he?"

"He threatened all of us, Dad. Every last Fenton. He wants to get rid of our entire family."

"This takes priority over everything else, so expect to see a lot of me." That was a pleasant side-effect. "Let me or Dani know if you ever see him again. I'll be in Amity Park until we finish this."

"Okay."

Dad hung up, and I pocketed my phone. Dani walked into the kitchen with a couple paper grocery bags. "Everything okay in here? You look like you've just seen a ghost," she said, setting the bags on the table.

"I have," I breathed, returning to my chair. "Don't worry, I already talked to Dad about it. He's gonna be here in town for a few days."

"You mean it was here? In my kitchen?"

"And it broke your window."

She looked over at the window, and I could see panic in her face. "Which ghost was it?"

"Phantom."

She fished out a phone, dialled a number, and exchanged a few words with the person on the other end before hanging up. "Val's on her way," she said, snapping her phone shut and pocketing it. She shifted into her ghost form.

"He's gonna kill us all," I said. "He's after all of us. He won't stop until we're all dead, and it probably doesn't matter to him how many extras he has to kill to get the job done."

"But it matters to us. We're sticking together."

I nodded, even though I wasn't quite sure we were safe together or apart.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

I met Dani in the basement the next morning, fresh from another nightmare but feeling oddly rested nonetheless. She was perched on an old table, in ghost form, bouncing an energy ball against the wall. "Mornin'," she said when she saw me. She tossed me the energy ball, which I caught easily. "Sleep well?"

"With regard to the current trend, yes," I replied, tossing the energy ball back. "Any word from your friend, or anyone else?"

"Not yet." She made the energy ball disappear and hopped off the table. "How're you feeling?"

"Pretty good. Another nightmare, not quite the most restful sleep ever, but I'm managing."

"Think you can handle going ghost again?"

"Does it get easier each time?"

"Actually, yeah, it does."

I nodded and went ghost. It was a little less painful, and I didn't quite have to think about it so much, but I was still dizzy afterward. "Better," I said after I recovered from the headrush.

"Good. Let's see if what you can already do comes easier now. Think you can?" I nodded. She fired ecto blasts at me, and, while I trusted Dani completely, I generated the shield without even thinking about it, much like I had at Clockwork's. She stopped firing, and I disarmed the shield. "Okay, you know only two tricks, right?"

"Yeah, the shield and that ecto blast thing," I replied.

"Okay, try the ecto blast thing." I picked a spot on the wall, free of anything expensive, and fired an ecto blast at it, leaving a scorch mark much like the one in the guest bedroom. "Feel any different?"

"Sort of. I'm not fighting for my life like I was before, when I first figured out I could do this."

"That's good."

"Won't be for long, though."

"I know, but we'll be ready."

"We hope."

Dani nodded curtly, and I could see in her eyes that she shared my sentiments. I shifted back into human form, and again I felt that sense of relief. I wondered if I would burn out if I remained a ghost for much longer, but I couldn't be sure. I wasn't taking any chances, though, not unless I really had to. "Aunt Dani," I began.

"Yeah."

"Do you think we'll win?"

Dani took a deep breath and looked down at the floor. Her shoulders slumped slightly. "I hope so," she whispered.

DFDF

I logged onto the computer at the first available opportunity and Googled everything I could on time travel and alternate timelines. When I learned as much as my layman's brain could handle, I began searching for information on ghost powers. There were several articles on my dad, and maybe one or two scholarly articles on the existence of ghosts, but I was hard-pressed to find anything on the mechanics of ghost powers in general. Probably because they haven't been studied yet, I thought, turning the computer off.

I found Dani in the living room, watching some lame psycho-bitch reality show. It was better than being in the guest room, or somewhere else, alone and vulnerable to another scare tactic by Phantom. I took a seat on the sofa, next to her, and leaned back. The dialogue was laced with cuss words, indicated by beeping and the blurring out of mouths, and occasionally the use of symbols in place of letters in the subtitles.

My head tipped back, and I stopped paying attention to the show altogether. "What other powers do you think I can learn?" I asked, looking at Dani.

"Well, the basics, like intangibility, invisibility, overshadowing, and flying, maybe."

"Okay."

"I'm just worried about you pushing yourself."

"Because you used to be in a position where if you pushed yourself, you'd melt into a puddle of goo, right?"

"Yeah."

"You think I'm gonna do the same thing?"

"No, but since you're quarter-ghost, you could end up seriously hurting yourself."

"Half-a-halfa."

"Excuse me?"

"I came up with it yesterday. Half of a half is a quarter, and since Dad's a halfa, that makes me a half-a-halfa."

"Oh."

She returned her attention to the program, and I lost myself in my thoughts.

DFDF

Clockwork. That was the name I attatched to the cloaked, timepiece-covered ghost in his castle, marked CW. I should've been able to figure it out, but I only recently had the time. Time. Heh. I was thinking about having time while at the same time thinking about Clockwork, time master extraordinaire.

Then there was the vision I had of his castle exploding. And the dream that I'd been having for ten days.

Then I remembered the two anti-ghost tools I'd taken with me into the Ghost Zone when this whole mess started. And I thought about the Fright Knight statue. That was Dad's spook, and someone was trying to throw us off the trail of his whereabouts, perhaps the Fright Knight himself.

I walked into the guest bedroom and checked the drawers. The weapons weren't there, so I checked my pockets, where I thankfully found them. Why didn't I check there first? Why didn't I remember them when Phantom was here threatening me and my entire family?

I set the Jack-o-Nine-Tails and Spectre Zapper on the bed under the pillow. Out of sight but easily reachable. One of the safest places possible.

I could now turn my attention fully to the Fright Knight. From what I knew, he had a specific M.O. When he wasn't working for somebody or imprisoned in a pumpkin, he was busy sending people to realms where they would experience their deepest fears. He was in New England because...well, I didn't know, but he was there for something. I had a strange feeling that it had something to do with Phantom's escape from the thermos, his prison for God knows how long, and everything else that's been happening lately.

And Clockwork knew about all of it.

"Clockwork. I know you can hear me, and this isn't making very much sense," I called.

At the corner of my room, a giant clock hand appeared, pointing in the twelve-o'-clock position. It rotated on its axis around what should be a clock face, and a blue portal appeared. Out of it floated the cloaked ghost that I met in the castle, in child form. "You called?" he said, raising his eyebrow. There was a note of annoyance in his voice.

"You knew all about all this, and you know how it's going to work out."

"I know how it's supposed to work out, child. Any decision you or anyone else makes from this point on will affect the outcome." He shifted into an old man. "This is how the future works."

"But you said it yourself. You know everything."

"I do."

"So what the hell is going on? You let Phantom escape, knowing he was dangerous, knowing a hell of a lot more than I do. You let him chase us to Connecticut, find me here, and only you and God know what else, but why? Are you sadistic and trying to end the world or something? What is up with all this?"

"Child, some events are fixed. Your father was supposed to know about a possible future where he turned evil so he would imprison his evil future self in a thermos to be released later. You are supposed to be reacting the way you are to your ghost powers. Phantom's escape is merely part of a fixed event, and a critical one at that. This is a great moment in history. I should know. It's a stage-setter, if you will."

"All this is supposed to happen?"

"Yes."

"And you're letting it?"

"I have no choice. The next several days are a series of fixed events that cannot be altered, not even by me."

"Sorry, but am I the only one thinking this is a Doctor Who episode?"

"They did get one thing right."

"Okay, so all this is supposed to happen and thus the actions and intentions of everyone involved are subject to it. Any clue how this works out?"

"I cannot tell you that. It would alter the flow of the time stream."

"Oh, right, and you're not supposed to because this is all a fixed event and it can't ever be changed, even by you."

"Exactly."

"Sorry if I bothered you."

"I'm supposed to be here, child. Everything that's happening at the present is supposed to." He shifted into a young adult. "Be strong, because you will be, and everything will work out like clockwork."

The hand appeared, rotating backward and creating the portal again. Clockwork, now in old-man form, floated through, and the portal disappeared.

I plopped down on the seat of the bed and lay back, my arms stretched out at my sides. Apparently Phantom was supposed to be out of the thermos, Dad was supposed to have gotten that call to Connecticut, I was supposed to try to help him, and this entire mess was all supposed to happen.

My brain felt like it was on overload, so I closed my eyes and allowed my thoughts to wander.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

I walked into Casper High, only to find Tanner hanging around by my locker. "What...are you doing here?" I asked.

"Uh, Demi, the Spring Fling is coming up," he began slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat and ignore the butterflies running rampant in my stomach. Could this really be happening? I asked myself. "I was, uh, wondering, if...if you would..." This could really be happening. I wasn't sure if I should pass out, puke, or scream. "...if you would help me ask Deirdre out."

I shoved him aside and stormed off down the hall. "I'll take that as a no, then," he called after me.

"No shit, Sherlock," I called back, not even looking at him.

I got as far as the janitor's closet by the East Wing bathrooms before my head started to spin and my vision began to change. I was in the gym, and at first glance, I thought I was having the nightmare again. Clockwork did say they were indistinguishable from visions, especially in halfas. Then I realized that something was wrong. I was toward the doors of the gym, and there were witnesses by the dozens. The crowd left a large open circle, and I pushed my way toward the edge. In the center were Mr. Collins and Phantom, the latter standing over the former and holding up a hand, ready to fire an ecto blast.

I snapped back into reality, dizzy as all get-out, and rushed toward the gym, dropping my bag somewhere along the way. Sure enough, there was a crowd gathered around the gym, leaving a wide open space in the middle. I pushed my way to the center even faster than I had in the vision, not even pausing to see who was there.

I pounced onto Phantom's back, wrapping my arm as far around his neck as I could. He struggled to toss me off as fervently as I struggled to hold on. The crowd began to chant, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" and our struggle continued.

"You little pest," Phantom hissed.

"Run," I yelled to Mr. Collins. "Get outta here." He stumbled to his feet and retreated to the edge of the circle. Some of the students tried to protect him, but I knew it was fruitless.

Phantom tossed me onto the floor on my back and readied an ecto-blast with my name on it. "This ends right now."

"No, it doesn't," I said. "It doesn't end now. Not even close." I could feel myself breaking into a cold sweat, and my hands were beginning to shake, no matter how much I tried to appear brave. "This isn't where or how I die, and I know it. I've been seeing it again and again for over a week now, and I can say with complete confidence that you're wrong." I couldn't tell if I was trying to calm myself or put him off.

Phantom began to chuckle, and it sent chills down my spine. "You are weak and pathetic. Your little tricks can't save you now." He launched the ecto-blast at me, and I blocked it effortlessly and got to my feet.

I transformed into my ghost form, which gave me a splitting headache nonetheless, managed a smirk, and said, "How do you like me now?"

"You are a quick study." He fired another ecto-blast, and I jumped, except that I didn't land. I hovered over the spot on the gym floor I was standing on. Flight. Sort of. If I could get down. "A very quick study." He drifted into the air, too, and we were on equal footing again.

The crowd stopped chanting, finally, and I glanced at Mr. Collins, who was already more deeply immersed in the crowd. He'd be safer than at the edge. Phantom fired shot after shot at me, which I dodged. I'd have to get out of here, lure him away from these people.

I turned and dove slightly, giving me enough momentum to fly through the door and down the hall, where other curious students were gathered, trying to figure out what was going on. I pulled up and looked around, but Phantom didn't follow, which meant Mr. Collins was still in danger. I turned and flew back to the gym, dropping to the floor and transforming back into my human form.

"So I run you off and you come back?" Phantom asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe you really are insane." He was still hovering over the gym floor, and he could probably remain there indefinitely. He formed an ecto-blast. "As tempting as it is to kill you now, I'd much rather finish what I started, especially now that you're here to watch." He fired the blast at Mr. Collins, the students who had defended him now ducking out of the way. He would've done the same, if he weren't so weak from his injuries.

As soon as he was hit, his body stopped moving. "That's the way to make an entrance," Phantom said with a broad, disturbing smile, and he flew out through the ceiling. I sank to my knees, my body suddenly numb and my mind unable to think.

DFDF

Students filled the outside campus, most clustered together in the football field behind the gym. Squad cars from the local and state police departments filled the parking lot and nearby street, sirens blaring and lights flashing. Officers had taped off the school, and a few were interviewing some of the students who watched the shameless murder of the psychology teacher.

I had managed to make it out to the front steps, where I returned to my knees. An officer walked over to me and knelt so that he was eye level with me. "Miss, may I ask you a few questions?" he asked. I nodded. He shifted his position and readied his pencil and paper. "You saw and fought the killer, correct?"

"Yes, sir," I replied in a raspy voice.

"Can you describe him to me?"

"Imagine my dad, but as a full ghost with flaming white hair, big muscles, and green skin."

"Okay, so are you saying the suspect is your father?"

"Sir, it's kind of complicated, but no, he's not my dad."

"So who is he?"

"Phantom," I said. "Just Phantom."

"Alright." He made a note of this. "Is there any reason that you can think of that this...Phantom...would want to kill Mr. Collins?"

"I think it was a senseless killing. Mr. Collins didn't have any enemies, at least, not that any of us knew of, and he would've tried to talk through somebody's problems, not get killed by them."

"Okay, then. Is there anything you'd like us to call that could help us with this matter?"

"Danny Phantom," I said. "Call Danny Phantom."

"Somebody already did," Dad said curtly, attracting the attention of both myself and the officer. He was in ghost form and had probably just flown into town. "Got anything for me?"

The officer stood and relayed what I had told him. Dad nodded patiently, digesting and thinking about each and every word., at least, so far as I could judge from his expression. Finally, Dad knelt next to me and rested a hand on my shoulder. "You okay?" he whispered.

I nodded. "I learned how to fly," I whispered.

"Well, good. Phantom didn't hurt you or anything, did he?"

"No."

"Okay, Demi, we're gonna find him. How about you come with me and we'll go check on Mom and the twins, okay?" I nodded, and I let Dad support me as we got to our feet and flew off-campus.

We reached Fentonworks, and Dad knocked. "Danny? Everything okay?" Aunt Jazz asked when she answered the door.

"May we come in?" Dad asked. Jazz nodded and stepped aside, and we walked into the living room. "We've got a problem."

"A...problem?"

"Demi's psychology teacher was killed by a ghost."

"What?"

I sank into the sofa, watching Dad and Jazz talk in hushed tones. For want of something to do, I decided to pull out my cell phone and call Dani. "Yeah?" she asked when she picked up.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay, with all the stuff that's been happening," I replied.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just talking to Valerie."

"Have you heard about Mr. Collins?"

"No...what happened to him?"

"Phantom killed him."

I could hear Dani gasp, and she said, "We'll be right over." The line went dead, and I pocketed my phone.

I couldn't help but reflect on Clockwork's words: "The next several days are a series of fixed events that cannot be altered." Mr. Collins was supposed to die, and I was supposed to be among the crowd of witnesses. I was supposed to try to save his life, and I couldn't. Something about it made me wonder if I was going to turn evil or end up a useless quarter-ghost failure, the kind a true halfa like my dad couldn't be seen with.

I was, after all, Tanner's first choice for helping him ask his first choice out. That certainly screamed "useless quarter-ghost failure" to me.

Dad took a seat next to me, and Jazz walked into the basement, presumably to talk to Grandma and Grandpa. "Demi, are you okay?" he whispered, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Yeah, considering."

"I think it's time I tell you that story about Phantom. You met Clockwork, right?"

"Yeah."

"There's such a thing as an alternate timeline, which he can see but we can't most of the time. In one of these, I cheated on the CAT, when I was a little younger than you. I got caught, and Mr. Lancer, my teacher, took my parents, sister, friends, and I down to the Nasty Burger, because apparently that was where I would end up. The Nasty Sauce vat overheated and exploded, killing everyone but me. I felt like it was all my fault, so I went to Vlad Masters, who ripped out my ghost half, which ripped out his ghost half and tried to overshadow it, fusing with it instead. The composite went on a ten-year path of death and destruction before I turned up in the future and figured it all out."

"So that was your old thermos he was in?"

"Yes."

"So, that ghost, Phantom, could've been you."

"Yes, it could've been me."

"But Clockwork intervened. Why?"

"I'll never know for sure. I used to think that it was to keep me from turning evil, but after I really thought about it, I figured maybe it's impossible to know for sure, unless, of course, you asked Clockwork himself, and he probably won't tell you."

"Do you think it could have anything to do with what's happening right now?"

"What makes you think that?"

"I talked to Clockwork. He said what was happening right now was a fixed, unalterable series of events, which therefore means that whatever leads up to it has to have the exact same outcome every time."

"Well, I guess that makes sense, but I have no idea why this is happening. Did he say?"

"No. He said it would alter the sequence of events, so he probably couldn't."

"That sounds like Clockwork."

"Well, it did come from the Time Master's mouth."

"How're you two doin'?" Mom asked from the doorway into the kitchen. She was leaning against the frame, her arms folded across her chest and a soft smile on her face.

"Just fine," I replied. "Dad and I were comparing notes."

"Good. Everything as it should be?"

"Apparently," Dad said slowly.

"How're DJ and Sam?" I asked.

"Ask them yourself. DJ, Sam?"

The twins appeared almost out of nowhere in the doorframe, rushing up to me. They jumped over the couch and wrapped their arms around me, tackling me and pinning me to the floor, inches from the coffee table. "We're so glad you're okay and that big mean ghost didn't get to you," they said at the same time.

"Hang on, you two know?" I asked.

They pushed up off of me so they could look me in the eye. "It's all over the news. If you wanna, you can listen in the basement," Sam replied.

"All over the news?" Dad asked, flipping the televison on and turning to the local news station to see for himself.

"Breaking news. Police are investigating the murder of a Mr. Arthur Collins, teacher of psychology at Casper High School," an anchorwoman said. "The murder took place in the school gym at around eight-o'-clock this morning, in front of a crowd of roughly a hundred students, including the Good Samaritan trying to stop the act from taking place, Demetria Fenton, daughter of Daniel Fenton, a.k.a. Danny Phantom, local halfa hero.

"The suspect was described by nearly all of the witnesses present as bearing a strong resemblance to the halfa, save for green skin, flaming hair, and larger muscles." The station displayed my drawing from the end of the previous week. "This sketch, drawn by Ms. Fenton, portrays who police believe to be the suspect. If you see this ghost anywhere in Amity Park, please call the police or the Fentons immediately." Here they displayed Grandman and Grandpa's, along with mom and dad's, phone numbers.

"Did you draw that?" Dad asked as they showed the picture from my locker again. I nodded. "Impressive, if a little creepy."

"Uh, thanks, I think."

"Danny, are you and your kids watching the news?" Grandpa called. Grandma pushed his wheelchair out of the elevator to the basement.

"Yeah, we are," Dad replied.

Grandma wheeled Grandpa over so that he was next to the sofa. "What do you think about that ghost?"

"Uh, let's start with insane psychopath and see where we go from there," I said. "Know any ghosts like that?"

"Actually, we don't, but when we find him, his ectoplasm is all over my suit."

"Jack, dear, can you actually fight a ghost in your condition?" Grandma asked. "You know what the doctor said."

"You're darn right I know what the doctor said."

"Dad, maybe you shouldn't strain yourself, especially now," Dad said.

"I can take him. I've lived through worse."

"Grandpa, he could kill you, and he will, without a second thought. I've seen him kill, and he will, he'll kill all of us and then move on to destroy the rest of the world. It's too dangerous for you."

"So, what do we do?" Sam asked.

"We suit up and stop him, you blockhead," DJ replied.

"Hey, what did I say about calling each other names?" Dad snapped. The twins looked at each other and then at Dad, both looking like the cat that swallowed the canary.

"To not to," they both said slowly.

"They're boys, Dad," I said. "It's what they do."

Dad glanced at his parents, and he said, "Don't rip each other apart," before turning to conference with them in hushed tones.

My phone buzzed, and I repeated Dad's order before walking into the guest bathroom. I answered the call, to a slightly familiar voice. "Demi, where are you?" It took me some time to recognize it as Valerie's.

"Uh, Fentonworks," I replied.

"Good. Stay there. Where's your dad?"

"At Fentonworks."

"Okay, good. I need to talk to him about this ghost that killed your psych teacher."

"How's Dani?"

"Dani's just fine, and she wants to come along, though why I'm not sure. This ghost is bad news."

"I heard."

"Stay there. You're safest there. I'll be right over." The line went dead, and I pocketed my phone and leaned against the bathroom door. I ran my fingers through my hair and slid into a sitting position, burying my face in my hands. My stomach was in knots, and I wasn't sure whether or not to throw up.

I felt like my world was spiralling out of control, even though this was perhaps the most controlled few days in the history of time, literally. My psych teacher was killed by a psychopathic ghost for no real reason, and here I was, barely able to go ghost yet mastering powers that it took dad several months to master while at the same time unsure if I could do the simplest things. It may really be a half-and-half deal: half of my dad's array of ghost powers, befitting a half-a-halfa freak like myself.

I rested my elbows on my knees and stared at my palms, taking a deep breath and generating ectoplasmic energy bolts. That came easy, but how hard were they for my dad to control? I turned my palms outward, generating the shield. That, according to the stories, took Dad several months. Could I duplicate myself, I wondered, and yet not be able to overshadow or turn intangible?

I let the ectoplasm disperse, and my hands dropped to the floor. After a moment, I got to my feet and walked back into the living room. I lay down on the couch and closed my eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

After an afternoon of fielding news reports, questions, interview requests, and questions, Dad collapsed into the couch, next to me. The television was off, and Dani and Valerie were sitting on the ottoman and leaning against the wall, respectively. Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, DJ, and Sam were scattered throughout the living room, waiting for Dad to say something. "Oh, God," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Okay, here's a cliffnotes version. This ghost's name is Phantom, and he's me from an alternate timeline. He's very dangerous, and very powerful. Not quite on Pariah Dark level, but close. I don't know what thirty years in a thermos did to him, but there's a very good chance that he's insane, and that makes him even more dangerous."

"And don't forget that he kills without remorse," I added.

"Now I know this is bad," Mom said.

"I beat this guy before, so I know it can be done."

"Dad, what're the odds that he's more powerful than he was thirty years ago?" Sam asked.

"Fairly high." I thought back to the electrically charged ecto-blasts that Phantom had generated that destroyed Clockwork's castle and nearly killed me. "That's why we need all the help we can get, which is why you're here."

"Maybe we should ask around in the Ghost Zone, too," Dani said. "I mean, if what you say is true, then we're gonna need all the help we can get."

"If that's our plan, I'll go," I said. "I have no idea how to control my powers and what to do about them, and what I can do I have no idea how. Plus, with Phantom in this world, the Ghost Zone is safe."

"Except for the Fright Knight," Sam interjected.

"And that crazy statue you mentioned," Dad added. "Speaking of which, why is it we've never seen or heard of it since?"

"Good question, but we have bigger fish to fry," Dani replied.

"In the alternate timeline I mentioned, Phantom had taken the Fright Knight on as a mercenary, which is why this whole situation is really bothering me. Something is missing, but I can't for the life of me figure out what."

"Dad, maybe we shouldn't focus on too much at a time," I said. "Everything is already bad enough as it is."

"I know, Demi. I just wish I had some idea of what to do about Phantom. It's not like I can trap him in a thermos, since he knows how to get out of one."

"There's a medallion in his chest. I don't know if I ever told you about it when I talked about what I saw the first time, but he fused a medallion in his chest after he destroyed Clockwork's place. Do you know anything about that?"

"I know what our next target is, that's for sure. That's a time medallion, and if we separate it from him, he'll, in theory, cease to exist, since he entered this whole mess outside of time."

"In theory?"

"It's the best shot we have. Now, let's set ourselves up an ambush."

"Great. I know just where to start."

DPDP

"Are you sure about this?" Dad asked right after we entered the deserted Casper High School. It may not have been exactly as it was in my dream, but I had the sense that I circumvented a long, complicated series of events only to meet the same end.

"I'm positive," I said. "I don't know if I'll make it out, but I know that this is how it's supposed to be. This is what my dream means."

Dad pressed me close. "I love you so much, Demetria. I want you to know that so badly." He squeezed gently but firmly. "If you die, promise me you won't move on until you see me again."

"I promise," I whispered. "I love you, too, Dad, and everything's gonna be okay. I'm sure of it."

I pulled away. "Now, go help save the world," Dad said, smiling. He shifted into ghost form. "I'll back you up."

"Thanks, Dad."

We walked toward the gym, and Dad took a detour at the locker rooms, turning invisible and slipping into his hiding place. I took a deep breath and pushed open the double doors, revealing a completely empty gym. This was good. This was very good.

I looked around and then up at the ceiling. By then, I had drifted to the center of the gym. "Where are you, Phantom?" I called. "Gonna pass up a chance at an easy target?"

"Do you really need to be so loud?" Phantom asked, phasing through the doors just like he was walking down the sidewalk.

"I didn't know your sense of hearing was so good. Rookie mistake," I said with a shrug. "Anyway, you gonna kill me or not?"

"This is a priviledge, and I thank you for it." With a malicious smile, he readied a pair of electronically charged ecto-blasts. I took a deep breath, waiting for the inevitable. "When you see your teacher, tell him that I really didn't kill him for any reason. I just had a thirst for blood, and you know how bad I am at self-control." He launched the ecto-blasts at me, and it took all I had not to throw up the shield. The blasts shocked as much as they burned, and I was launched backwards, tumbling toward the opposite wall.

I propped myself up on my elbows and looked up at my assailant, who was approaching steadily, his next move ready and waiting. I pushed myself up onto my knees, and I nodded. "You're really that eager to die, aren't you?" he hissed. "Anyway, your father will put up more of a fight, and that's what I'm most looking forward to." He blasted me with what I figured was a ghost ray, and I found myself hovering in the air, taking the full force of the hit.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

My head began to spin, and at the same time, I felt more alive than I had ever before. I could feel myself lapsing into a faint, and that's when I dropped to the floor, barely conscious. I made as little noise as possible; as long as Phantom thought I was dead, he would phase out of the building, exposing the time medallion. So I played dead, and I could hear Phantom chuckle.

My head was clearing, but by then Phantom had stopped chuckling. I dared to crack open an eye. He was nowhere to be seen, so I opened both eyes and pushed myself up onto my knees.

I looked down at my hands, discovering that I was in ghost form. Weird. I didn't remember shifting. Maybe that was that strangely alive feeling I felt earlier, as I was being attacked with the ghost ray. I pushed myself up to my feet and walked out of the gym. "Dad?" I called with a quivering voice, to no answer. "Dad?" Still no answer. I walked into the locker rooms, but invisible or not, there was no one there, and my ghost sense didn't detect anything. I walked out of the locker rooms, on my way to exiting the school entirely.

The halls were completely empty, as they were when we entered, but something about it made me more nervous now than before. Finally, I reached the doors and stepped outside. My attention was directed skyward by the various flashing lights, and I saw my dad and Phantom fight. They were back and forth, all over the sky, and there were remnants of the most recent ectoplasmic attacks and defenses still scattered about in various stages of fading away into nothingness.

I studied myself again, for want of something to do with my time. I had confirmed that I was in ghost form, though I still had no idea how. My shoulders were much sorer than the rest of my body, but at the same time, I felt some of the remains of that feeling of being alive, more alive than before I was supposed to be dead. Maybe I was dead, in some way, or more of me was dead.

I couldn't help but smirk at my circumstances. Here I was, pondering life and death with regard to a halfa or half-a-halfa, and there was an epic ghost fight between my dad and himself raging above.

A familiar voice rang out through the streets: "Time out."

The next thing I remember, Phantom was across the street, eyeing a point beside me to the right. Dad was somewhere between us, to the left, and the point Phantom was eyeing was occupied by Clockwork, in adult form, with a small smile on his face. Clockwork was applauding rhythmically, which somehow didn't strike me as odd for the Ghost of Time. "Brilliant first act," he said. "I especially like what you've done, Demetria, getting the same result while skipping many unnecessary steps."

"Okay, what is going on here?" Phantom asked.

"Everything that's happened tonight, and all that led up to it, was a fixed event in time, and there will be many more, because what's coming simply must come. Everything in its own time, Phantom."

"It's complicated," I added.

Clockwork drifted in front of Dad, shifting into child form along the way. He handed Dad a thermos, a brand-spanking-new one, and said, "Time for a little intermission."

"You are not putting me in there again, Clockwork," Phantom snapped. "And don't think about shaking it, because I will get out."

"This time you will not be in my care. I need all of you in the same general area for what is to come."

"You've officially lost your mind."

"Go ahead, Daniel."

Dad opened the thermos, sucking Phantom inside, and he capped it without a word. "I'm confused now. What're you planning, Clockwork?" I asked, looking from my dad to the Ghost of Time.

"I can't tell you that, but suffice it to say, the group is now balanced. You will find a message waiting for you in your dreams, as you have been for some time, and we will meet again." He pressed a button on his staff. "Time in," he said, and the world jerked into motion again. With a flick of his hand, the time medallions snapped off my father's and my necks, and he floated through his portal back into the Ghost Zone.

"That was officially the weirdest thing that ever happened to me," Dad said, shifting back into human form. I followed suit. I wanted to, for whatever reason, look as normal as possible. "Let's go home. You look pretty tired, and I've got a lot to share with the others."

I nodded.

DPDP

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My shoulders were scarred and slightly blue in color, as were parts of my arms, chest, neck, and the underside of my chin. I didn't know what it meant yet, but it could wait until morning. I changed into pajamas and walked into my bedroom. My dream journal was at the ready on my nightstand, along with a pencil and the reading lamp, which was off. After climbing under the covers, I, too, was out.

DPDP

Amity Park was intact, which was my first clue that this was different. For some reason, I was walking toward the town park.

Floating above the fountain in the middle of the park was a gigantic clock face, complete with the accurate time. I stepped closer to the clock face, and I felt that someone was watching me, waiting for something. I swallowed, licked my upper lip, and said, "Okay, I'm here, in my dream. Is this the message? The time of day?"

Instead of a straight answer, Clockwork's disembodied voice recited a poem:

"_Tick tock, tick tock,_

_The words that the Time Master cannot stop._

_Tick tock, tick tock,_

_Then watch as the silence drops._

"_The last of the old lights_

_Guide us through endless night._

_The ancient ones are called again;_

_The cruel master, to seal away._

"_This time it may forever be,_

_And the ancient ones see,_

_That all the world over,_

_Here stand the last of the others._

"_So rise, Ancient Ghosts, to the call of the clock:_

_Tick tock, tick tock._"


End file.
